Germany Genealogical Records

Germany Birth & Baptism Records

Germany Births and Baptisms (1558-1898)

An index to over 37 million birth and baptism records, listing parents' names.

Miscellaneous Births & Baptisms Index (1534-1983)

A small index to several-hundred-thousand records from select countries.

Germany Marriage & Divorce Records

Germany Marriage Index (1558-1929)

An index to over 8 million marriage records, including date and place of marriage and the names of the bride and groom.

Miscellaneous Marriage Index (1662-1945)

An index to more than 30,000 marriage records, including personal details, names of relations and particulars of marriage.

Germany Death & Burial Records

Germany Death & Burial Index (1582-1958)

An index to over 3 million death and burial records, including ages, names of relatives and other details.

Jewish Online Worldwide Burial Registry (1550-Present)

A searchable database of over 1 million Jewish burials with photographs of the matzevot.

Newspapers Covering Germany

Newspaper Archive: Germany (1945-1999)

Text-searchable copies of hundreds of thousands of German newspaper articles.

Name Card Index to AP Stories (1905-1990)

An index to over 2.1 million people mentioned in Associated Press stories, including name, subject, location, date and a reference to the article.

Subject Card Index to AP Stories (1937-1985)

An index to around 500,000 Associated Press articles.

AP Stories & Newsfeatures (1937-1985)

An index to and digital images of hundreds-of-thousands of world newspaper articles.

Germany Immigration & Travel Records

Hamburg Passenger Lists (1850-1934)

An index to and images of lists of passengers departing Hamburg, Germany. They may list name, gender, age, date and place of birth, occupation, residence, nationality, marital status, family relationships, religion, military service and more. Contains over 5 million names.

Hamburg Passenger List Index (1855-1934)

An index to over 5 million people who departed on ships from Hamburg, Germany. The index includes name, name of ship, departure date, destination port and other details.

United States Germans to America Index (1850-1897)

Transcripts of documents recording the immigration of over 4 million Germans to America. Records may include name, date and place arrived, gender, age, birthplace, occupation, literacy, departure port and more.

Germany to Australia & New Zealand Emigration (1850-1879)

An index to over 40,000 people who sailed from Hamburg to Australia and New Zealand. It contains: name, former place of residence, age, occupation, ship and more.

Swedish Emigration Records (1783-1951)

Abstracts of details found in passenger lists, passport records, correspondence and seaman records, which may list name, age, gender, birthplace, occupation, residence, destination, emigration date and more. Most passengers were traveling to North America.

Germany Military Records

Germany World War I Casualty Lists (1914-1917)

An index to and images of World War I casualty lists for the German army. The lists include over 5 million soldiers who died, were injured, or went missing during the war.

Flossenburg Entry Registers (1941-1945)

Registers recording the arrival of over 75,000 prisoners of war, political prisoners and those deemed as undesirable by the Nazi regime.

Dachau Entry Registers (1933-1945)

Registers recording the arrival of around 175,000 political prisoners and those deemed undesirable by the Nazi regime.

Hellfire Corner (1897-1919)

A collection of fascinating diaries and remembrances of WWI soldiers.

Prisoners of War (1715-1945)

An index to and images records detailing the incarceration of 1.34 million military personnel, civilians, diplomats, missionaries & merchant seamen who were held as prisoners of war. The records cover British prisoners held by foreign powers and non-British prisoners held by Britain.

Flossenburg Entry Registers (1941-1945)

Registers recording the arrival of over 75,000 prisoners of war, political prisoners and those deemed as undesirable by the Nazi regime.

Nazi Death Camp Records (1939-1945)

A collection of various camp records, transport lists, medical data cards, inmate cards, death lists, and strength reports salvaged by the United States.

Dachau Entry Registers (1933-1945)

Registers recording the arrival of around 175,000 political prisoners and those deemed undesirable by the Nazi regime.

Dachau Concentration Camp Records (1945)

A database of over 165,000 Dachau prisoners who were included on a survivors list prepared after the end of the war.

Jewish Holocaust Survivors (1944-1946)

The names of over 33,000 Jews who survived the holocaust and ended up in displaced persons camps.

Germany Directories & Gazetteers

CIA World Factbook (1994)

A statistic and descriptive gazetteer of nations.

Germany State Government Directories (1802-1929)

Books recording the names of military officers and civil servants.

World Foreign Gazetteer (1998)

Useful for locating places, this searchable gazetteer gives brief details, latitude and longitude for more than 1.5 million features, places and regions throughout the world.

German Phone Directories (1915-1981)

An index to and images of telephone directories for Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, and Munich.

Crane's Directory & Buyer's Guide (1899-1900)

A directory listing manufactures in Britain, Europe and Australasia.

Germany Cemeteries

Billion Graves (1200-Present)

Photographs and transcriptions of millions of gravestones from cemeteries around the world.

Germany Obituaries

Germans from Russia Obituaries (1899-2012)

Indexed images of over 400,000 obituaries of Germans from Russia who died in North America.

Germany Histories & Books

Ancestry Member Stories (6000 BC-Present)

Over 7 million remembrances and historic details submitted by Ancestry members. Useful for local historians.

Ancestry Member Photos & Documents (6000 BC-Present)

Over 60 million historic photographs and documents submitted to Ancestry. This rich collection contains many rare sources of interest to local historians and will be relevant to most genealogical research.

Nazi Death Camp Records (1939-1945)

A collection of various camp records, transport lists, medical data cards, inmate cards, death lists, and strength reports salvaged by the United States.

Dachau Concentration Camp Records (1945)

A database of over 165,000 Dachau prisoners who were included on a survivors list prepared after the end of the war.

Germany & Austria Historical Postcards (1890-1950)

A collection of over 25,000 photographic postcards, depicting life and scenes in Germany and Austria. Each postcard caption has been indexed and may be searched by keyword or location.

Germany School & Education Records

British University Women Holocaust Records (1938-1951)

An index to minutes concerning meetings helping Jewish women immigrate to the UK.

Germany Occupation & Business Records

Germany State Government Directories (1802-1929)

Books recording the names of military officers and civil servants.

Crane's Directory & Buyer's Guide (1899-1900)

A directory listing manufactures in Britain, Europe and Australasia.

Cricket Archive (1844-Present)

A database of cricket scores and players.

Pedigrees & Family Trees Covering Germany

Monarch and Nobles of Medieval Germany (514-1600)

The lineages of German, Dutch, Luxembourgish, Czech and Austrian royalty and nobility, with biographical details and extracts from historic documents.

FamilySearch Community Trees (6000 BC-Present)

A searchable database of linked genealogies compiled from thousands of reputable and not-so-reputable sources. Contains many details on European gentry & nobility, but covers many countries outside Europe and people from all walks of life.

Ancestry Member Family Trees (6000 BC-Present)

A compilation of lineage-linked family trees submitted by Ancestry users. The database contains over 2 billion individuals and is searchable by numerous metrics.

Lineages of Medieval Pomeranian Nobility (1100-1637)

The lineages of Pomeranian royalty and nobility, with biographical details and extracts from historic documents.

Genealogics (1400 BC-Present)

A searchable database of linked families. It largely covers royalty and nobility, but also contains actors, footballers and American presidents.

Germany Royalty, Nobility & Heraldry Records

Monarch and Nobles of Medieval Germany (514-1600)

The lineages of German, Dutch, Luxembourgish, Czech and Austrian royalty and nobility, with biographical details and extracts from historic documents.

FamilySearch Community Trees (6000 BC-Present)

A searchable database of linked genealogies compiled from thousands of reputable and not-so-reputable sources. Contains many details on European gentry & nobility, but covers many countries outside Europe and people from all walks of life.

Heraldry Clipart (1189-Present)

A growing collection of heraldic and related clip art that can be used to reconstruct a families' arms. Includes packs for British, German, Austrian, Spanish, Italian, Danish, Polish, Portuguese, French, Swiss and Dutch arms. Images are available in a variety of formats including vectors.

Lineages of Medieval Pomeranian Nobility (1100-1637)

The lineages of Pomeranian royalty and nobility, with biographical details and extracts from historic documents.

Genealogics (1400 BC-Present)

A searchable database of linked families. It largely covers royalty and nobility, but also contains actors, footballers and American presidents.

Germany Maps

Old Maps Online (1497-2010)

An interactive index to thousands of maps covering the world, continents, countries and regions. The majority of maps cover Britain and Ireland.

Germany Reference Works

Heraldry Clipart (1189-Present)

A growing collection of heraldic and related clip art that can be used to reconstruct a families' arms. Includes packs for British, German, Austrian, Spanish, Italian, Danish, Polish, Portuguese, French, Swiss and Dutch arms. Images are available in a variety of formats including vectors.

Jewish Name Database (1400-Present)

A database containing variants of 100,000s of given names used by Jews.

Historical Description

Germany is bounded on the West, with France and Belgium; on the North, with Denmark, and her Seas; on the East, with Prussia, Poland and Hungaria; and on the South, with the Alpes.

The compass of this spatious Countrey is 2600 English miles: the figure of it is almost an exact square, each side containing 650 miles.

Situation

It is situate in the Northern temperate Zone, under the 7 and 11 Climates; the longest day being 17 hours and an half.

Of all Europe this is the greatest Countrey, and beautified with the best and richest store of Cities, Towns and Castles, and Religious places.

Fertility

It also doth abound with many things necessary for life, and many things to be transported. They have Corn sufficient, and for Cattle they want not of all kinds, but they are commonly lean and little: so are their Horses many in number, but little in stature.

Commodity

The Commodities wherewith it is inriched, are Mines of silver, and other inferior Metals: Wines, which they transport into other Countreys, together with fresh Fish, Linnen, Quick-silver, Allum, Armors.

Natures of the People

The Inhabitants for honesty of conversation, probity of manners, assurance of loyalty, and confidence of disposition, setting aside their imperfect customes of drinking, excelling all people.

Germany is divided into the higher, and lower; the upper lying on the Alpes is subdivided into Austria, Bavaria, Suevia, Helvetia, (or Swizzerland,) and Alsatiae.

A Geographical Description of the World (1671) by George Meriton

Germany is now a Federal Republic. Trade with the United Kingdom has been resumed, and during 1920 their imports from this country amounted to £50,685,000, their exports to us being £31,073,000. It may, however, still be useful to keep on record the pre-war situation. There had been a steady increase in the population for many years, and in 1910 it stood at 64,925,993. Of this number Prussia was credited with 40,163,333, and the three other kingdoms of Bavaria, Saxony, and Wurtemburg with 14,131,526. About 32 per cent, of the population was engaged in agricultural pursuits, but manufactures had, during recent years, rapidly increased. The principal products include coal, iron, copper, lead and zinc, also lignite and mineral salts in considerable quantities. The Imports from the United Kingdom in 1914 amounted to £36,431,273, consisting chiefly of metals, coal, woollen and cotton yarns, woollen stuffs, fur, tinplate and leather goods, and the Exports to a £47,049,343. In 1913, the year before the war, of imports of German sugar reached over ten million sterling, iron and steel manufactures over £4,000,000 leather over £2,000,000, musical instruments over £900,000, while toys and games amounted to over £1,000,000. The principal towns with a population exceeding 100,000 are: Berlin (1910) (2,070,695); Aix-la-Chapelle, Altona, Barmen, Bochum, Bremen, Breslau, Brunswick, Cassel, Charlottenburg, Chemnitz, Cologne, Crefeld, Dantzic, Dortmund, Dresden, Duisburg, Dusseldorf, Elberfeld, Essen, Frankfort-on-Main, Gelsenkirchen, Halle, Hamburg, Hanover, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Konigsberg, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Munich, Nuremberg, Plauen, Stuttgart and Wiesbaden.

The Newspaper Press Directory and Advertisers' Guide (1922)

Most Common Surnames in Germany

RankSurnameIncidenceFrequency
1Müller945,4041:85
2Schmidt712,8811:113
3Schneider437,8271:184
4Fischer374,2601:215
5Weber327,2391:246
6Meyer324,4961:248
7Wagner299,8381:268
8Becker280,4231:287
9Schulz278,9161:289
10Hoffmann275,8911:292
11Koch230,4711:349
12Richter229,5691:351
13Bauer225,7071:357
14Schäfer222,6731:362
15Klein200,2991:402
16Wolf195,1721:412
17Schröder188,8591:426
18Neumann180,1181:447
19Schwarz166,8151:483
20Braun165,5921:486
21Zimmermann163,4061:493
22Hofmann159,8661:504
23Lange159,3461:505
24Hartmann155,6751:517
25Krüger154,9071:520
26Krause151,2181:532
27Lehmann149,9401:537
28Schmitz148,6641:542
29Meier148,2651:543
30Schmitt148,1381:543
31Werner145,7911:552
32Schmid142,4291:565
33Schulze137,3541:586
34Maier135,5441:594
35Herrmann130,5531:617
36Mayer126,6251:636
37Köhler125,5071:641
38Walter125,2281:643
39König125,1821:643
40Huber124,4001:647
41Kaiser122,3621:658
42Peters122,0171:660
43Fuchs118,3451:680
44Möller113,5841:709
45Lang113,0961:712
46Scholz112,2721:717
47Jung106,6491:755
48Weiß104,9831:767
49Hahn103,8261:775
50Keller101,8951:790
51Berger100,8331:798
52Vogel100,2441:803
53Schubert100,1931:804
54Friedrich99,1151:812
55Frank97,0711:829
56Roth96,4591:835
57Winkler95,7821:841
58Beck94,9951:847
59Günther94,8741:849
60Lorenz93,6361:860
61Baumann88,0381:914
62Franke86,0411:936
63Albrecht85,0481:947
64Ludwig81,3681:989
65Winter81,2711:991
66Simon80,9421:995
67Schuster80,6201:999
68Schumacher79,9651:1,007
69Kraus79,4271:1,014
70Böhm78,6361:1,024
71Vogt77,3261:1,041
72Martin76,3951:1,054
73Stein75,6061:1,065
74Jäger74,4861:1,081
75Sommer74,2981:1,084
76Krämer73,8591:1,090
77Brandt72,5101:1,110
78Otto72,4511:1,111
79Heinrich71,1221:1,132
80Schulte70,6141:1,140
81Graf70,4201:1,143
82Haas70,0591:1,149
83Seidel70,0001:1,150
84Schreiber68,7561:1,171
85Groß68,3551:1,178
86Dietrich67,0661:1,200
87Engel66,1841:1,216
88Ziegler65,1551:1,236
89Horn63,4711:1,268
90Bergmann63,0461:1,277
91Pohl62,6581:1,285
92Kuhn62,6111:1,286
93Jansen62,4271:1,290
94Voigt62,0911:1,297
95Kühn61,6891:1,305
96Beyer60,9341:1,321
97Busch60,8591:1,323
98Thomas60,6941:1,326
99Hansen60,4201:1,332
100Lindner59,9171:1,344
101Arnold59,8511:1,345
102Sauer59,6751:1,349
103Kramer59,4971:1,353
104Wolff59,1541:1,361
105Seifert58,6291:1,373
106Hübner58,5581:1,375
107Ernst58,3641:1,379
108Pfeiffer58,1701:1,384
109Wenzel56,1311:1,434
110Franz55,5201:1,450
111Nagel55,0941:1,461
112Kern55,0031:1,464
113Barth54,8571:1,468
114Peter54,5591:1,476
115Götz54,4921:1,477
116Paul54,0431:1,490
117Hermann53,8661:1,495
118Kruse53,4661:1,506
119Riedel53,4581:1,506
120Ott52,7741:1,525
121Haase52,3681:1,537
122Petersen52,1351:1,544
123Langer52,0811:1,546
124Lenz52,0671:1,546
125Grimm51,6661:1,558
126Hoppe51,3101:1,569
127Bock51,2351:1,571
128Arndt51,2291:1,571
129Jahn51,1041:1,575
130Wilhelm51,0721:1,576
131Mohr50,8691:1,583
132Ritter50,7861:1,585
133Schumann49,9801:1,611
134Fiedler49,7581:1,618
135Kaufmann49,6971:1,620
136Kraft48,7901:1,650
137Förster48,7591:1,651
138Berg48,7031:1,653
139Thiel48,6971:1,653
140Miller48,2481:1,669
141Michel47,4761:1,696
142Marx47,2991:1,702
143Walther47,0851:1,710
144Lutz46,9771:1,714
145Sander46,8241:1,719
146Fritz46,4951:1,731
147Eckert46,4061:1,735
148Thiele46,1711:1,744
149Böttcher45,6031:1,765
150Reuter45,1691:1,782
151Reinhardt45,0121:1,789
152Beckmann44,3431:1,816
153Schilling44,3251:1,816
154Schindler44,0221:1,829
155Frey43,7121:1,842
156Hein43,5181:1,850
157Ebert43,4621:1,852
158Hesse43,4031:1,855
159Behrens42,9811:1,873
160Schütz42,9041:1,876
161Kunz42,6111:1,889
162Schramm42,3871:1,899
163Herzog42,2321:1,906
164Rudolph42,0391:1,915
165Gruber41,0591:1,961
166Bayer40,9741:1,965
167Kunze40,9501:1,966
168Witt40,9401:1,966
169Fröhlich40,9321:1,967
170Nowak40,6371:1,981
171Geiger40,1281:2,006
172Stephan40,0171:2,012
173Maurer39,8011:2,023
174Bender39,1661:2,055
175Seitz39,0451:2,062
176Schultz38,9611:2,066
177Bachmann38,8541:2,072
178Adam38,7171:2,079
179Brinkmann38,4331:2,095
180Fink38,2501:2,105
181Kirchner38,1021:2,113
182Stahl38,0041:2,118
183Ullrich38,0011:2,119
184Gerlach37,8381:2,128
185Breuer37,8131:2,129
186Steiner37,7151:2,135
187Gärtner37,5671:2,143
188Büttner37,4801:2,148
189Dietz36,6891:2,194
190Scherer36,5731:2,201
191Bruns36,5621:2,202
192Kurz36,4631:2,208
193Naumann36,3911:2,212
194Moser36,3311:2,216
195Brand36,3181:2,217
196Böhme36,2111:2,223
197Reichert36,1821:2,225
198Schlüter36,1651:2,226
199Ulrich35,9001:2,242
200Löffler35,7571:2,251